The Naval Pilot Authority () was a

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

responsible for

maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who has specific knowledge of an often dangerous or congested waterway, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots know local details s ...

age in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

between 1899 and 1974. Its central administration was the Naval Pilot Directorate () in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. The operational organization consisted of a varying number of district offices. The authority became part of the

Norwegian Coastal Administration Norwegian Coastal Administration () is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the water transport infrastructure along the Coast of Norway. It is responsible for coastal navigation infrastructure, pilotage and harbour and port infrastr ...

from 1 June 1974.

History

Pilotage had taken place along the coast of Norway since

prehistory Prehistory, also called pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the first known use of stone tools by hominins million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use ...

. In early times pilots had a competitive regime, where several candidates would race to reach a potential ship to collect the fee. Because of the hard competition, pilots would often fare out in too-harsh conditions, frequently meeting an early death. However, the occupation was amongst the best paid in rural areas. From 1720 there were introduced piloting exams. The pilots owned their own boats an hired an assistant, often their own sons, to operate the boat for them. From 1899 the competitive pilot system was abolished and a new piloting law was introduced, establishing the Naval Pilot Authority. The agency was initially organized in three regions, Sønnendfjeldske headquartered in Oslo, Vestenfjeldske in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and

Northern Norway Northern Norway (, , ; ) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to no ...

based in

Tromsø Tromsø is a List of towns and cities in Norway, city in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The city is the administrative centre of the municipality as well as the administrative centre of Troms county. The city is located on the is ...

. Each was led by a head pilot (). They were subdivided into a series of pilot olderman district, counting 26 in 1947. The Naval Pilot Directorate, which was based in Oslo, was established as a subsidiary of the

Ministry of Trade and Industry A ministry of trade and industry, ministry of commerce, ministry of commerce and industry or variations is a ministry that is concerned with a nation's trade, industry and commerce. Notable examples are: List *Algeria: Ministry of Industry and ...

on 9 April 1948. It took over the central coordination of the authority, replacing the regions. It was horizontally moved to the Ministry of Fisheries from 1 January 1952. The directorate was merged with the Lighthouse and Buoy Authority, and the Port Authority on 1 June 1974 to create the Norwegian Coastal Administration. However, the Naval Pilot Authority continued as an independent operational agency until 1980.

References

{{authority control Maritime pilotage organizations Government agencies of Norway Organisations based in Oslo Government agencies established in 1899 Government agencies disestablished in 1974 1899 establishments in Norway 1974 disestablishments in Norway Norwegian Coastal Administration